Maui Beta (NSR related)

[CaddyDaddy77]

Going in late September for 10 nights, what can I not miss?


We are staying in Hana, renting a car and want to have some adventures while were there. Looking to snorkel a bit but he Wife isn't real motivated to get certified for scuba.

We've looked at a couple of the Tours heli, boats, bikes, aquarium, etc.. Picked up "Maui Revealed" and picked up some good tips in that but was hoping for some additional knowledge from the mags on this one.

Fishing? Surfing? Hiking? Eats?

Have been advised to hit up Costco prior to heading to Hana.

Thnx in advance.

[SkiBrain]

I really enjoyed the Ulalena show when I was there some years ago:

http://www.mauitheatre.com/

Very interesting, creative, cirque-de-soleil-esque depiction of Hawaiian history, mythology, and culture.

[splat]

If you were going to be there during the full moon, which will be September 11 (gulp!),I'd say go to Haleakala and stay the night. It's cool to watch the sun go down into the ocean on one side and the moon rising out of it on the other side, then party til sunrise when it all happens again in reverse. Get out on the water! Do a sail to to Lanai out of Lahaina. Grab a room in Lahaina or Kaanapali for the night, cause the commute is brutal. Low traffic time of year, so rooms will be readily available. Take two days to drive around the whole island, then go chill in Hana. Cause you'll be burnt out on driving by then.

[dn4989]

Check out the shredders at Ho'okipa... Say hi to Robby for me.

If your lucky it will be a Kona day at Lanes

I'd love to see a shortboardin' Kookmeyer paddle into that shit!

[Core Shot]

FYI, you are in Hana. The end of the earth (or at least maui).
You are convenient to nowhere except where you are.
Stay there and enjoy it. Maybe do an overnight trip to the other side, but dont get any ideas about regularly driving back and forth.

Maui revealed is the best book.

Black sand beach, Seven Sacred Pools and a few other fun things near you.
But seriously, that is one long commute to get back to civilization.

[G. Gordon Liddy]

Yep, Hana is at the end of the island. We stayed at the start of the Road to Hana in a great town called Haiku. And even here we felt a long ways from much of the island. We put over 600 miles on our rental car in 9 days. If I were to give you suggestion it would to eat in Haiku. No tourists, 2 GREAT restaurants, and a cool grocery store to stock up at.

[LARRY01]

I would look into a sunset cocktail cruise. Pretty cheap and you definitly get a different perspective of Maui.

[Red Baron]

We were in Maui at this time last year for our honeymoon - we spent a week at the Four Seasons Wailea.

We did make the drive out to Hana one day, and yes, it certainly is out there.

We made the requisite million stops along the road to hike to waterfalls, etc both on the way out, and on the way back.

We also had one of the best fish dinners ever at Mamas Fish House before heading back to Wailea.

As far as the island as a whole, I liked the vibe out at Hana way more than anywhere else - no Bubba Gump Shrimp or t-shirt shops out there...

Enjoy.

[stenou]

I am mostly a lurker, but live in Maui, so figured I should reply. Hana is great, but as noted, you are pretty much stuck in that area. It is extremely lush and wet. It's great, but 10 days is a long time to only see Hana side. If not too late, I would change to staying in Hana for 3 days and go somewhere else for other 7. Yes, hit Costco before you leave for Hana as there are only small groceries out there. Make sure and bring mosquito punks. In Hana, hit red sand beach, hike along cliffs at Waianapanapa, hike to Waimoku Falls in Kipahulu area, beach at Hamoa. Beautiful area, but definitely isolated from rest of island. If you can manage to change trip to stay some time somewhere else, hike in Haleakala, surf or boogie board on south or west side, if you windsurf, best in world on north shore. If you mountain bike do Skyline drive from top of Haleakala. I wouldn't bother with the paved tours. Let me know if other questions.

[gaijin]

don't bring frozen peas into the water to feed the fish when snorkeling. They'll bite you. And then after you disgard of the peas, they'll follow you.

[CaddyDaddy77]

Thanks for the beta all, some great suggestions. We are looking to have some pretty good amounts of down chill time, so be removed from the hoopla of the main parts of the island is just what we were looking for. Sounds like the driving will be a bit more involved than I would have originally thought, but don't mind windsheild time too much. Thanks again, keep it comin!

[stenou]

Sounds like you're committed to staying in Hana. More advice. Costco has cheap boogie boards. Buy a couple and boogie board Koki and Hamoa beaches. Koki in particular is good for BB. There's some decent snorkeling off black sand beach at Waianapanapa. Aside from Hamoa and Koki beaches, be careful in waters off Hana. There are some gnarly currents. Ask locals when there. Aside from Hotel Hana Maui, there are basically no restaurants. Keep that in mind when shopping at Costco. There are 2 ways to get in and out of Hana. The "back" way (by Kaupo Gap) is closed for foreseeable future. Don't try to go that way unless you get assurances that it's reopened. You'll have a good time so long as you have attitude that you will have to slow down. There are definitely some cool hikes and beach activiities, but not much else.

[fullers2oh]

if you buy any booger boards it is always nice to donate them to some local kids when you leave! aloha.

[raj]

Last time I was on Maui, the best thing I did was backpack! Yes it may sound silly on a small island but it was awesome. I drove my rental car to the top of Haleakala, hiked into the crater and spent the night there. Then, instead of returning, kept going downhill/ east adn basically bushwacked to the Hana side. Then Hitched back to a small beach town (Paia or something like that name) and another hitch back to Haleakala.

Obviously, this was in my early twenties, I had no idea where I was going and probably not recommended with a GF/wife (if you want to stay hitched afterwards) but it was a totally unique experience which I suspect very few tourists do. The sunrise from the crater with basically no one else around was eerie and amazingly beautiful.

Oh listen to stenou. Hana is literally the end of the road. If you are going there, stay there or find something on the west. I stayed in the town where the main airport is (Kihu something). Snorkeling on teh south west side was very good adn also took a boat/ snorkelign trip to the sunk crater off teh island (Molokini or some name like that). That was touristy but really good.

I am bad with the Hawaiian names with so many vowels so I am probably butchering the place names, whatever

[splat]

The Haleakala to the ocean hike rocks. But 10,000 feet of all downhill walking will jam your toes into the ends of your boots like you never thought possible. Did it during a full moon once and found a lot of other trippers down at the cabins in the lower part of the crater for a great time. Ended up hitting the ocean at Huialoha church, an abandoned 18th century missionary outpost on the water, where we staged an old time revival (of sorts).

[ljm]

I was in Maui for the first time last week... stayed a night in Hana, 2 in Kihei, and another night in Lahaina. Hana waas great, and I wouldn't have missed it, but I also would rather spend most of my next 10 nights there somewhere else on the island. Hana was WET! Warmish, but cloudy much of the time, and either humid or raining.

Out of the places we stayed, my favorite was Kihei. Good snorkeling right in front of the hotel (Mana Kai Maui), great beaches, and close to restaurants/amenities. Not as touristy as Lahaina, better beaches IMO, and a pretty laid back vibe.

Anyway, that's my .02... you'll love Hana, but as everyone else has said, it's gonna take a couple hours each way to get to any civilization.

[Knockneed Man]

You shouldnt have any troubles finding some good pakalolo for sale on the road to Hana.... and you'll need it to settle your stomach. There are some cool hikes on the way to Hana... By Paia check out Ho'okipa beach. Best (and most expensive) restaurant on the island is also there, Mama's Fish House. There are some cool bamboo forest hikes on the road to Hana, including some sweet waterfalls to jump off. In Hana, you can hike the so called Sacred Pools, but there are some better freshwater caves you can swim through along the beach. Locals dont go in the braqish water where the pools mix with the ocean... sharks love it. Kaupo is a pretty cool spot near Hana, but the road to get there is shit, and not condusive to cars... rent a jeep. I would advise staying elsewhere for part of the time, but if you really want to get tranquil... Hana will get you there.

[Barnballs]

yea dude, 10 days is a terribly long time in Hana. Do a couple days in Kapalua or Napili...eat some sush in Kap, hit up the Village course, do some longboarding just south of Lahaina, eat at Mama's and stop by Pai'a (sp?) for some beers and new board shorts. Bring sun block.

[raj]

The Haleakala to the ocean hike rocks. But 10,000 feet of all downhill walking will jam your toes into the ends of your boots like you never thought possible. (of sorts).

So true, don't I know it ! Bushwacking through bamboo, mango trees and slippery mud is fun too! Hitching back from Hana to top of Haleakala is an interesting logistical exercise: you left your car where ?!

Still prety tame compared to some crazy backpacks/ travels I have done in other parts of the world.

[Knockneed Man]

[QUOTE=raj;1319116] you left your car where ?! QUOTE]

Totally... that's just asking for a bashed windsheild! Leave your car anywhere remote and your windows are gone. If you park at a beach, take your belongings and leave the car doors and the glove box open. Shitty but true.

[CaddyDaddy77]

[QUOTE=Knockneed Man;1319135]

you left your car where ?! QUOTE]

Totally... that's just asking for a bashed windsheild! Leave your car anywhere remote and your windows are gone. If you park at a beach, take your belongings and leave the car doors and the glove box open. Shitty but true.

Heard this in the book or a web review too. Opting for primo insurance on the rental sounds like a good investment. Definitely looking to get pretty much lost, and don't care too much for civilization on vacation, live in a big-ass city I get my fill as is.

Revivals, caves, and stubbed toes, got some planning to do! We might sneak a night in or two on the other end of the island but we'll have to see.

Looking to do some of the cruises/snorkels, looks like there's a good handful of tours to choose from. Anybody taken or recomend a heli-tour? Seems a bit pricey, but it looks like you get to see a good chunk of the island that you can't see otherwise. Only been in a chopter once and it wasn't for sightseeing.

Staying at Hotel Hana, but had been warned that eating at the restaurant can set you back pretty good, so that's why we were thinking Costco to keep some of the meals out of the restaurant.

Thanks all, great stuff.

[TankShine]

On one of your trips in or out of Hana on "the Road to Hana" stop at Mile Marker 11. There is a cool set of water falls right there off the road, just a couple parking spots if I remember correctly so don't be looking for major tourist attraction. The water is fresh water from the mountains, perfect temperature, you can jump off the top of the water fall very safely, and the swimming is great.

[stenou]

Just be aware that there are really no cruises/snorkel tours from Hana. About the only organized tourist activity that I'm aware of from Hana is horseback riding. You are about a 2 hour drive from closest cruise/snorkel tours. Hotel Hana Maui is very pretty. I don't think they have rooms with cooking facilities, but you might want to check. Hana is light on civilization, but it comes to visit from the tourist parts of the Island every day. The place empties out by 5pm every day.

[Atlas Q. Powmonger]

I like Honumanu bay, west of Hana. It's pretty and empty, and every once in a while the surf can be good (probably not this time of year though...).

For surf/ocean sports, go to Kim Ball's shop - Hi Tech in Kahului. Nice folks run it and they take care of everyone.

If you have to drive to/from Hana much you should just rent a motorcycle and at least make the drive fun!

[Atlas Q. Powmonger]

I was going to recommend picking up some Azeka's ribs too, but I just saw this: http://www.azekas.com/

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!